Taking the Plunge...

[Feanor]

Hello all...

I wonder which category of KDX rider I fall into :) I'm in my early forties, have ridden a dirtbike, or I should say any motorcycle, exactly ONCE in my life (but had the greatest time), and I road cycle as in bicycles, Fence (as in Touche), and fly R/C Helicopters :)

My brother took me out to the offroad park a little while back and let me ride his Honda 250 cr, crx? something CR :) After a few minutes of putting around I instantly realized that it was a blast!

After that weekend I spoke to several of the younger guys at the office and the concensus was that I should steer clear of the pure Motocross bikes and since I was just starting out I should get a bike with good "manners" which would still be more than sufficient power and handlingwise even after years of improving.

So they steered me toward the KDX-200 and this forum :) After just a few searches for break-in procedures, differences between 200 and 220, best mods, etc I see from the search returns that I have about 3 days of reading in front of me! But I have no problem with that!

Seems like there are lots of different opinions on the basic subjects, but since I'll probably never get out of 3rd gear while I'm learning, alot of the performance enhancements and advanced techniques in all areas will wait for quite a while, and I'll probably run stock for quite some time.

I guess a question I still have is besides the bike and riding apparel (helmet, gloves, armor, boots etc) are there any other useful pieces of kit that I should buy from the get go? I'll be using my brothers trailer for transporting the bike and he provides all the premix gas and fueling paraphenalia...

I'm really looking forward to riding :)

Feanor

 

[m0rie]

Buy all the armor you can reasonably afford...then buy more! :-) Seriously when I was learning to ride trails I spent as much time on the ground and flying thru the air (not on purpose) as I did actually riding the bike! Most of that was without armor. After I got the proper equipment the "learning" experience became much more fun. Depending on your weight i'd respring the front forks to bring them more inline with the shock spring rate, but other than that you should have a great time learning to ride on the KDX. After your more comfortable with the bike and your ability add on the mods. Toss on a pipe, rejet and hold on...its a whole different bike.

-Maurice

 

[skipro3]

Hi Feanor and welcome to DRN and the KDX forum. Like Morie said, buy the riding gear but don't buy junk. If you have a fixed budget, then start with a top quality helmet, goggles, gloves and boots. From there, add shin/knee guards, chest protector, elbow guards. Jerseys and pants are great for stylin' but sturdy outerwear will work fine for now. Again, get the best quality gear you can find and make sure it fits correctly. At 40+ myself, I can tell you that we don't heal as quick as when we were 20+.
I have found that the 220 can be friendlier to a novice with room to grow, whereas the 200 can be better handled by someone not unfamiliar with the quirks of a 2 stroke powerband.
Having co-workers who ride and steered you here is a big plus. Don't go riding all by yourself, too much risk involved.
Get a fanny pack or use the tool bag and stock it with tools. Get a shop service manual and read it. Leave it in the john and you will have your cheeks go numb as you forget how long you've been in there.
Once familiar with how to ride quickly without crashing, focus on suspension mods before power mods and see how much easier it will be to go fast.
Mods to the bike for starting out as a new rider might include good quality barkbusters, skid plate, pipe guard, etc. Adjust all the controls to fit you and your riding. Your friends can help you get the bar width, lever angles, bar placement, etc. set up for good ergonomics.
Grease everything as soon as you get that bike home. At least before you take it anywhere that's wet.
Ditch the tires as soon as they begin to wear and buy something better for your region of riding terrain. Play with suspension settings and sag to optimize the bike for you.
None of this is really in any order of importance, just as it comes to mind. Except the safety gear.
Learn to do all your own maintenace.
Most of all have fun.

 

[dom]

It sounds like you are planning on buying a new bike. I would strongly recommend picking up a lightly used example. You can probably find a nearly new kdx with a pipe, bark busters, skid plate, steering damper, etc. for a good bit less than a new bike. KDXs don't get beat as hard as mx'ers and that shiny plastic will be gone after your first ride.

 

[RBSOB]

Welcome aboard!

Sounds like you have some wise co- workers to steer you toward the KDX and this forum, you can likely count on any other riding advice they offer! I too am 40+ and just in the last 2 years got back into dirt bikes in order to introduce my teenage son to the sport. I'm not sure just who is enjoying it more! Skipro has covered a lot and I agree, I also agree with dom on trying to find a good, lightly used, recent model, and I personally like the 220. Depending on your locale the riding season may only be a few more months. Find a bike and ride as much as you can, learn to handle it and have fun, you'll have all winter to make any mods! Good Luck and keep us posted, Jim G.

 

[jirvine]

Lots of good advice but I'd disagree, to a degree, with what skipro3 said about riding alone. I would'nt be able to ride much if I didn't go out alone. Don't fly blind, wear all that gear, take a cellphone and enough tools to give you a chance of fixing something (spark plug, maybe a master link). I've crashe when alone, lets say a few times, nothing exciting. You're better off with someone, but riding alone is better than not riding. Works for me because my riding area is out my backdoor and I rarely stray more than 10 miles away.

 

[skipro3]

While I can agree that an experianced rider riding in an area familiar to him would not be out of the question, Feanor is new to the sport and could easily get in over his head. His age provides experiance that will keep him out of most serious trouble, but accidents do happen. I recently coordinated a rescue for one of my co-workers who broke an ankle riding a dirt bike to a job site near the Desolation Wilderness area. He was an experianced rider but dabbed his foot down at a low speed between a couple of rocks and it got stuck. After I cut his boot off, it was clear he would not be even able to walk to the helicopter for evac. The company radio and sattelite phone worked great along with the GPS as I was able to provide co-ordinates to the pilot of Lifeflight 3 and Engine 36 ground crew.
RBSOB's solution of having his son get into riding is a great solution. When my son first started to ride, (7 years old) the FIRST thing I taught him was how to tell daddy was really hurt and not just fooling, how to stop bleeding, what to do if I was unconsious, and how to get help without putting himself in danger.
We each decide how much risk is acceptable in our activities. Just be sure you understand what risks you may be taking.
Just be sure of your own skill level and that of your gardian angel as well.

 

[aliikai]

Hello all...

I wonder which category of KDX rider I fall into :) I'm in my early forties, have ridden a dirtbike, or I should say any motorcycle, exactly ONCE in my life (but had the greatest time), and I road cycle as in bicycles, Fence (as in Touche), and fly R/C Helicopters :)

My brother took me out to the offroad park a little while back and let me ride his Honda 250 cr, crx? something CR :) After a few minutes of putting around I instantly realized that it was a blast!

After that weekend I spoke to several of the younger guys at the office and the concensus was that I should steer clear of the pure Motocross bikes and since I was just starting out I should get a bike with good "manners" which would still be more than sufficient power and handlingwise even after years of improving.

So they steered me toward the KDX-200 and this forum :) After just a few searches for break-in procedures, differences between 200 and 220, best mods, etc I see from the search returns that I have about 3 days of reading in front of me! But I have no problem with that!

Seems like there are lots of different opinions on the basic subjects, but since I'll probably never get out of 3rd gear while I'm learning, alot of the performance enhancements and advanced techniques in all areas will wait for quite a while, and I'll probably run stock for quite some time.

I guess a question I still have is besides the bike and riding apparel (helmet, gloves, armor, boots etc) are there any other useful pieces of kit that I should buy from the get go? I'll be using my brothers trailer for transporting the bike and he provides all the premix gas and fueling paraphenalia...

I'm really looking forward to riding :)

Feanor

 

[aliikai]

If you ride around trees get a set of bark busters or equivalent ( to protect your fingers from being crushed by your levers), buy the best equipment you can afford. My lesson was not to buy cheap boots. I got a set of oniel elements, because they were cheap, and I ended up buying another pair less than a year later. I have a 2004 KDX 220. I would recommend having the springs replaced with aftermarket (i used race tech) to balance the bike for your weight. I am 41 years old and I weigh 270, changing springs made a big big difference in ridability.

 

[Feanor]

Thank you for all the great info and advice!!!

I just wanted to say thank you all and that I read thru all the replies so far.

I have to say that at this moment I'm feeling a mixture of excitement, anxiousness, fear and exhiliration; the same feeling that I had when I rode my brothers Honda that first and only time I'd ever ridden any kind of motorcycle :)

I'm definitely into avoiding needless injury and so I'll be taking it slow at first and I won't balk at all about getting the first rate safety equipment (I figure even expensive riding gear is cheaper than a lifeflight! heh.

I've done a search on "offroad riding school" and "dirtbike school" and a few others and wasn't able to find the info I was looking for which is info on offroad riding schools in the SF bay area region... I'd be willing to invest some money on some quality beginner level training from the get go just so I would have the straight dope on the correct things to practice when I hit the trails/track... Anyone have info about schools of that type in the SF bay area region?

The more I read in the forum, the more I'm convinced that there are an infinite number of tips/tricks and "goes without saying" things about offroad motorcycling that I need to learn...

An example is a buddy at work told me to grip the throttle with a straight wrist and throttle with the wrist down, or even grip the throttle initially with the wrist bent down a little... that way, if the bike lurches forward, or I jostled backward for some reason the tendency would be light throttle or even closing the throttle...

Alot of you are probably going "GEEZ! Duh!" but this is just a sample of the basic stuff I'd like to drill into my head before starting out :) Not sure what it would feel like, but he said if I gripped the throttle with up bent wrist, the first time I hit a section of bumps I'd get to see what its like to "run" behind the bike :) (doesn't sound too fun)

I was doing it the exact WRONG way when I was riding my brother's Honda, but since I was just putting, I never ran into that trouble (thankfully)

The one time I did dump off the bike though was when I was getting a little courage up and hit a 3 or 4 foot incline that was perpendicular off to the side of a raised trail about 5 feet wide... I gave myself what I thought was the correct amount of run up speed, trying to keep the throttle constant, but when I got to cresting the top at what appeared to be just the right speed (the bike was not airborne, but rather, very light on the suspension) I turned hard right to get on the raised trail, What happened next as far as I remember is that I gassed it a little to get the rear end up over the edge and sliding out a bit to line the bike up with the path, but the rear swung overly wide, I immediately cut the throttle and the next thing I new the bike "flicked" me off the opposite side like a dead fly :| I remember seeing the ground come up and a "whump" and then laying there for a few seconds before getting up and thinking about how great my brother's chest armor worked! he doesn't use/have knee protectors or elbow guards and I did bang my elbow on a rock painfully so when I get my stuff knee and elbows will be under hard plastic! Oh, also I got to see first hand what it feels like to kick start, have your foot slip off the kickstarter, thus banging your shin on the foot peg! Ouch!!! so no riding with just hiking boots next time :)

When I go back I'm going to find that same section and teach it whose boss *laughing* or at least show it that I don't always fall off...

Thanks again guys for all the great info!

Feanor

 

[70 marlin]

An XR250 would be a good choice also. One thing to think about KDX's you'll have to learn jetting and will have to do a top end at least once a year depending on the amount of riding you do.

 

[rethnal]

Once a year huh? Everyone I know who rides KDX's like myself haven't had to do a topend in YEARS! On MX bikes sure... but KDX's... nah..... Mines a 95 and it has 140psi compression. Never had a top end since new and I ride alot. My brothers is a 90 and it has had one topend done in 98... didn't really need it yet but we were bored. KDX's are very durable but if you want to do a topend I say go for it. At least you will know how to do it when you really need to do one. :)

 

[70 marlin]

It's your bike; some people can get away with it? :bang: Id rather spend the money and service the power valve, replace the piston on a regular intervals, than have a catastrophic failure or being stranded 30 miles in the sticks. Just my opinion! :clue:

 

[skipro3]

Feanor,
Dave Woods, a AA enduro rider in District 36, puts on riding classes for Northern California riders. I believe he has three levels of classes, one a beginner level. Do a search on his name here and see what you find. From feedback I've read here, his classes will cover enough to keep you practicing his lessons for quite some time. He used to even give discounts to repeat customers. It's also a way to find out about local ridinging areas you may not be aware of and meet other riders who you could buddy up with when your brother isn't able to ride when you want to ride.
Here is Dave's e-mail address:
[email protected]
And here are a couple of links to threads about his classes:
http://www.dirtrider.net/forums3/showthread.php?t=81458&highlight=dave+woods
http://www.dirtrider.net/forums3/showthread.php?t=91390&highlight=dave+woods
http://www.dirtrider.net/forums3/showthread.php?t=79376&highlight=dave+woods

 

[rethnal]

I'm sure you wrote "topend" not powervalve service. BIG difference. Just wait till you have to do a valve service on your 4 stroker. I'll take the 2 strokes anyday! :)

 

[John Harris]

I have had 4 KDX's (first one was a 175 and others 200's) and I have never done a top end yet! I hope you get to ride enough to need one! There are not many people who work full time that ever get to ride enough to really need a top end, baring some other happening.

Welcome aboard, guard yourself and your motorcycle for you will fall learning. Then slowly modify to suit your taste and needs and wants. This forum will guide you.

Most of all ride and have fun!

Cheers John

 

[Feanor]

Thank you Skip!

I read thru all the links and I see you saved Natalie's thread for the last because it was so intense! :yikes: It was a great piece of writing (and riding :) ) and it looks like Dave really pushes people's limits to make them better riders.

Its also not as expensive as I was thinking it would be so that's a plus too! After I get my new bike and get some familiarity with it under my belt, I will definitely give his class a go! Thanks again!

Feanor

 

[70 marlin]

Just owning a Woods's bike cost money! Just saying HUSABERG cost money. But once you rode a Berg you'll never go back to anything less. This spring I raced a couple Hare Scrambles with my son in Team Heavy Class on his Fredette 220 KDX This bike has all the bells, whistles and tricks on her. And it's still no Berg! You can treat you bike anyway you'd like. I just prefer to keep the engine as if it's new. The Berg this winter will get a complete major over haul to the letter per the maintenance schedule!
By the Way CONGRATs on choosing the KDX it's the best beginners two stroke woods bike! :yeehaw:

 

[rethnal]

I guess Jeff Fredette is the best beginner I have ever seen then! :laugh: Whatever man...... You can go either way.... anal or realistic or anywhere in between. I don't race for a living, nor do I think most on this forum does either so there is no need to rebuild the topend unless it needs it. NEED is relative to what you require.

Why try to compare a 470 to a 220? To each his own I guess.

Reminds me of a quote: I'm kind... just not your kind. :eek:
That was a joke ;)

 

[70 marlin]

Now you’re finally making sense! I had the pleasure of speaking to Mr. Fredette this year at the loose moose. What a great spoke person! He took the time to take pics with my son and give an autograph and talk KDX's for a brief time before his race. For awhile I had some respect for your kdx comments but you’re loosing ground fast? A new rider can get away from expensive maintenance if they want. I just feel it a good habit to learn to be an over achiever maintaining your bike like your life depends on it! “{It does) Plus what it's going to hurt to have a bike in top condition!~ Time to step off the soap box.

 

[kdx22097]

If your weight is about 170 the KDX is about perfect stock.

 

[rethnal]

I have ridden 2 strokers for years, especially KDX's. True, I don't race much but if you use good oils and change your tranny oil often, you shouldn't need to rebuild your topend very often if you don't race. Compression should be checked frequently to determine wear but chances are you will not notice much change. If it feels like you are losing power, check the compression. Regular mantainence is good practices but you really don't have to go overboard. Enjoy your new bike. I still get goosebumps when I fire my bike up and prefer to ride instead of stressing over a little lost compression. If it is within the service limits, let it ride. I didn't mean to upset anyone just wanted to add a balance to the counter balance.
It's amazing what a little tweak to the air screw can get out of your bike. Jetting is fun if you ask me and it is worth getting right. KDX's are lighter than most 4 strokers and easier to start than most 4 strokers too... unless you have that little button! ;)

Enjoy that bike.....

 

[Feanor]

200 vs 220 after using the search function

Here I am again :)

I'm now smack dab in the middle of the shopping pricing process for the new KDX and already I've run into a quandry!

I've read all the threads I could find including Joe Berscheids great write up KDX200 vs KDX220 and though I was just about positively set on the 200, I'm now having some second thoughts as this will probably be my offroad bike for years and years.

I know from reading that the 200 has more top end and the 220 more grunt at low end but without making any carb adjustments/mods and just replacing the silencer and pipe can one make the 220 equivalent in top end with the 200, or is the 220's limiting factor more related to gearing and jetting?

My greatest fear not having experience with anything but a Honda 250 motocrosser is that I'll find out later down the road that the power band and response characteristics of the KDX200 are more to my liking than the power delivery of the KDX220. Keep in mind that I am an absolute beginning rider at 5'-10" and 185lbs, like the idea of trail riding at medium to low speeds, but still don;t want to be left behind if my friends "open it up" on dunes or fire roads after I get good enough...

But if, without "too" much trouble, I can make give a 220 exactly like a 200 with "more power" I just might go the 220 route...

If the 200 and 220 were exactly the same price would it then be in the arena of a "no-brainer"? Or are the bikes distinct enough from each other and is the difficulty factor of modding them enough to still use the argument that each one is excels in two different things?

Sorry for the long winded-ness and newbie-isms, I just don't want to regret a decision later on down the road... (It took me 5 months to make a decision on my Trek Road Bicycle :) )

Have a good one!

Feanor

 

[skipro3]

My KDX220 keeps up just fine with my riding buddy's KX500 in the woods. Of course he pulls away from me on fireroads but who would want to follow too close to that beast, the way it throws rocks off the knobby. My 220 goes as fast as I care to twist the throttle on a fire road anyway. I've never run out of power.
Don't fret it too much and if you can find a good used bike, save a bunch of money and do that. Buy one and then adjust it for the riding you develop into. Worry about if it was the right one as you're out riding. You're over 40 dammit, you've waited long enough. Get moving or someone will talk you out of it.

 

[CZ511]

For whatever it's worth. After a 14 year break from riding and racing 125 & 250 class, I decided I just had to get back into it. I was all set on a KX 250 when a good friend and old racing buddy, said "Your crazy, buy a KDX 200" Well, I did and now at the age of 42 I'm on my 3rd KDX. Actually, I wish I still had my 1990 KDX. Yes, 42 (Old and slow) but just love to ride. My goal, is still to be riding at the age of 50 and hopefully I can raise the bar when I get there. My vote, buy the KDX and go riding!!